You are here:

Encounter

Name: Encounter
Director: Susannah O'Brien
Released: 2016
Duration: 84 min

Representation Score

2.9/10

Limited

2016

Director

Susannah O'Brien

Runtime

84 minutes

Average Rating

No ratings yet

New Showbiz Analysis

Encounter operates as a traditional genre piece that relies heavily on established horror clichés. The narrative focuses on domestic isolation and supernatural haunting rather than disrupting social hierarchies. The film follows conventional patterns, particularly regarding gender and romantic structures. The central relationship is traditional, and the female protagonist's role is defined by vulnerability and possession. Ultimately, the production lacks significant depth in reflecting diverse identities or systemic social critiques.

Watch this, not that →

Category Breakdown

Does Encounter have LGBTQ+ representation?

Limited

The film focuses on a newlywed couple, suggesting a traditional romantic structure. There is no evidence of characters with non-traditional gender identities or critiques of traditional social structures.

How does Encounter portray gender?

Fair

Lauren is subjected to supernatural possession and vulnerability, a common horror cliché. Both partners face psychological tolls, but the power dynamics follow traditional patterns of observer and victim.

How racially and ethnically diverse is Encounter?

Limited

The narrative centers on a specific domestic unit within an old farmhouse. There is no indication of a diverse or non-Anglo-Saxon majority cast.

How does Encounter represent religion and culture?

Fair

The story engages with spiritualism through a séance and suggests that traditional prayer is ineffective against the haunting. However, it lacks a broader critique of Western institutions.

Does Encounter include disability representation?

Minimal

The film does not provide evidence of physical or neurodivergent representation. The character's possession is a supernatural genre element rather than a depiction of lived disability.

Present on Screen

Engages with themes of spiritualism and secular skepticism through the use of a séance.

Limited or Absent

Relies on traditional gender clichés where the female lead is the primary subject of supernatural destabilization.
Lacks racial and ethnic diversity within the central domestic narrative.
Maintains a traditional romantic structure without exploring non-traditional gender identities.

Official Synopsis

A newlywed couple Ted and Lauren rent an old farm house to do a thesis on orbs and set up cameras, Strange ghostly noises and haunting occur at night. Ted sees video of Lauren, possessed and wandering the fields at night. When their roommate kills himself they decide to do a séance to see what is haunting the house. Little do they know what they hear and fear is nothing they can pray away.

How are these scores produced? →